


The 21st Century

by mad_hatter_9306



Series: Team Enterprise [1]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: CAR TRIP, modern!AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:29:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 6,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25339156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mad_hatter_9306/pseuds/mad_hatter_9306
Summary: Spock’s father is missing on Earth. With the help of a couple of Earth teenagers, Spock searches the U.S.
Series: Team Enterprise [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1851646
Kudos: 3





	1. Language Barriers

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, first of all, I’ve only seen the rebooted and the original movies. The characters and events are inspired by the former. Anything disagreeing with canon is very much on me.
> 
> Next, I haven’t finished writing it yet, so I’ll add tags as I write them in. I dunno if that’s a norm, or if I’m just being a little eccentric, or whatever.
> 
> Finally, I don’t know if I’ll include any relationships yet. If I do, it’ll definitely be Spock/Uhura. Unsure about anything else.
> 
> Um, I think that’s it. I hope you like it.

“Hey, Uhura!”

“What, Kirk?” James T. Kirk could hear Uhura’s disdain through the phone.

“Uhura, I got an idea. A really, really cool idea.” Jim paused for dramatic effect. “Alien communication.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really! Come over and I’ll show you!”

Twenty minutes later, Uhura was watching Jim mess with wires from a radio. He had begged, pleaded, and wheedled for her help due to her talent with languages. Finally, she had conceded, and now here she was, watching Jim fiddle with colorful wires (and some colorful metaphors). 

Suddenly, the radio crackled to life. Jim’s eyes widened. “Uhura, come over here, quick! I think I did it!

Uhura hurried over. She grabbed the microphone, then hesitated. “What do I say?”

“I dunno, maybe your name?”

Uhura nodded. She pressed a button and said clearly, “Meum nomen Nyota Uhura est.”

“What language is that?” Jim hissed.

“Latin,” Uhura whispered back.

Then the radio crackled again. An unintelligible voice poured from it. “That’s no language I know,” Uhura said.

Jim grinned. “Aliens!”

Uhura rolled her eyes. “Not necessarily. There are some languages I don’t know.”

“Pfft, nonsense. It’s probably aliens.” Jim pulled a notebook seemingly from nowhere and jotted something down. “We should try some other languages, maybe they know a different one.”

“No, Jim. If they don’t recognize Latin, they won’t know others. And that’s on the ridiculous assumption that it actually is aliens, which it isn’t. So I’m not gonna try other languages. Unlike you, I have a plan for my summer, so don’t keep bothering me about it.”

However, Jim, being a stubborn Iowan teenager, bothered Uhura nonetheless.


	2. Crop Circles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim creates some really detailed crop circles. Uhura reluctantly helps.

“Please, Uhura?”

“No, Jim, I want nothing to do with your ridiculous ‘alien’ ideas.”

“But it’ll be fun!”

And thus, Uhura was pulled into another one of Jim Kirk’s endless “fun” ideas.

This time, she was pretty sure there’d be repercussions, seeing as this idea involved attacking the cornfields.

Jim reassured her that it’d be fine, his mom and stepfather didn’t care. No consequences whatsoever, he said.

Then he showed he his plans. He said they had to be exact, or it would all be wrong. Uhura rolled her eyes and set to work.

————————————————————————————————————

As it turned out, creating fake crop circles did indeed have consequences. Jim’s stepfather grounded him, and scolded them both vehemently. Mrs. Kirk was less angry, but warned Uhura against “rashly involving herself in Jim’s schemes.” Uhura’s parents weren’t happy, either. However, to Jim and Uhura’s delight, she wasn’t grounded.

Needless to say, the next two weeks passed uneventfully. Jim had extra chores to do around the house and on the farm. In the little free time he had, he studied with Uhura. They both were aiming for acceptance to Starfleet Academy, a prestigious flight school in California.

Then, one day, an odd visitor interrupted their peaceful farm life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, this chapter seemed longer in my notebook. Oh well. I guess they all seem longer in my notebook. I’ll try to make them longer.


	3. Spock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spock beams down to begin the search for his father.

Spock was alerted as soon as the odd message was received. It was a confusing mess of gibberish in a rudimentary version of Vulcan.

Then the crop circles appeared, spelling out a vague SOS message from Ambassador Sarek. Spock’s father had traveled to Earth years ago, and hadn’t been heard from since. And that was why Spock was here: looking for his father. So it made perfect logical sense for Spock to beam down and search for him in person.

————————————————————————————————————

Jim and Uhura were sitting across from each other at the kitchen table, studying in companionable silence. Suddenly, they heard an odd “whoosh”ing sound from outside. Jim peered out the window and grinned. “Yes! I was right!”

“What now?”

“Aliens, Uhura! Actual aliens in the cornfield!”

“No way.”

“Yes way! Come look! Actually, no, follow me, we gotta meet them!”

Uhura reluctantly closed her textbook and followed Jim outside. Then her jaw dropped.

Jim was right. Standing amidst the corn were half a dozen pointy-eared aliens. Jim was talking to one of them, and Uhura moved closer to listen.

“So you’re an alien,” Jim stated.

“Affirmative.”

“And you’re looking for your father.”

“Correct.”

“You know what this means?”

“... No, I am afraid not.”

Jim smirked back at Uhura. “Road trip!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I don’t know what sound the transporter makes. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
> 
> Also! Please mention my characterizations if they don’t sound right. I would very much like some constructive criticism please! As previously mentioned, I have only seen the original movies and the rebooted ones. And I’ve only seen them once. So... criticism, please and thank you! :)
> 
> Ok, lovely! Thanks for reading!


	4. Road Trip!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The road trip begins!

Jim thought it would be better if his mom and step-father didn’t know the details of the trip. He also thought it’d be good if as few of the Vulcans—that’s what the aliens called themselves—as possible went with them. So, one dark night a few days after the Vulcans had arrived, Jim scribbled a fairly vague note and left it on the kitchen table for his parents. Then he grabbed his bag and headed outside.

One of the Vulcans was waiting in the driveway. It was Spock, the one looking for his father. They had decided to take the van, which was Jim’s dad’s from before he died. Jim absently wondered how the alien would stay undetected amongst humans with his pointy ears. However, he discarded the thought, tossed his bag in the backseat, and climbed in behind the wheel. Spock sat rigid in the passenger seat. Silently, Jim drove over to Uhura’s house. She was waiting by the front door with a backpack slung over her shoulder. It soon joined Jim’s in the backseat as she crawled in.

“So, where to first?” Jim asked.

“How about wherever Spock’s father was last seen?” Uhura leaned forward. “Do you know where he might have been, Spock?”

“I believe he went first to the District of Columbia.”

“D.C. it is, then!” Jim quickly typed it into Google Maps. “Buckle up. It’s a fourteen-hour drive.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo, this chapter’s really short! Sorry, I’ll try to make them a bit longer.
> 
> Again, I would love some constructive criticism, as I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing. I don’t know how Google Maps works.
> 
> Finally, I have a vague idea of where they’ll go, but I haven’t really connected it yet into a coherent trip. So. I’ll get it, though. (Eventually.)
> 
> Ok, cool, thanks for reading! I hope you like it!


	5. Coffee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spock has never had coffee before.

The fourteen-hour drive was made longer by Jim’s insatiable need for snacks. Sure, he’d packed some, but he’d eaten them quickly.

Four hours after they had left, Jim had run out of snacks. Thirty minutes after that, he was half-asleep. So he woke up Uhura and handed her his phone. “Hey,” he yawned, “can you find the nearest Starbucks?”

And so, ten minutes later, Jim pulled into the drive-through of a Starbucks. “What do you guys want?”

“One cream, no sugar,” from Uhura. But Spock just stared straight ahead.

Jim had a sudden realization. “Spock... have you ever had coffee?”

“I do not believe so,” the Vulcan answered.

Jim was astonished. “You have to have some.”

But Uhura stopped him. “Spock, do you want tea?”

Spock had had tea before; it was his human mother’s favorite drink. “Yes.”

Five minutes later, they were on the road again, each person sipping their chosen beverage. Suddenly Jim cursed. “I forgot to get snacks!”

Uhura groaned. “You’re kidding, right?”

“No, I seriously need more snacks! We still have, like, nine more hours. And besides, the car needs gas, too.”

“Fine, turn around.” Which Jim did. Pretty soon, he was pulling into a gas station just down the road from the Starbucks they had been at fifteen minutes ago. He handed Uhura his credit card and asked her to get the gas. Meanwhile, he and Spock went inside.

Jim led the Vulcan to a colorful aisle filled with chips and candy of all sorts. “What should we get?”

Spock adopted another neutral stare. “I do not know.”

Jim looked at Spock. He really didn’t know anything about Earth. Then he refocused on the shelves of junk food. He grabbed a couple different kinds of potato chips and maybe twenty types of candy. He walked back down the aisle and glanced outside. Uhura was still waiting for the gas. “Ok, follow me.”

Spock trailed Jim as the latter found a coffee machine. He dumped the snacks unceremoniously on the counter and picked up one of the cups. He filled it with plain black coffee. “Here, try this.”

Jim watched Spock carefully, but the alien’s face was unreadable. “Do you like it?”

“No.” And Spock set the cup down.

“Well, I guess that makes it mine.” Jim poured the coffee into another cup. He went up to the front counter to pay. Then, he and Spock went back out to the car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I don’t know anything about coffee, otherwise I would have added more details. I also don’t know a whole lot about the characters, so I don’t know their coffee preferences. And finally, do gas stations have coffee machines? I don’t know that, either. I’ll just operate under the assumption that at least this one does.
> 
> I guess this chapter’s a little bit longer. Oh well, this is a pretty good length. Thank you so much for reading!


	6. The Washington Monument

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I think the title says it all: they visit the Washington Monument.

For a while, the car was silent. Vulcans, being all logical, didn’t engage in casual conversation. And with Spock being so anti-conversational, Jim and Uhura felt distinctly uncomfortable talking.

After barely half an hour of quiet discomfort, Jim decided to turn on some music. He played some of his favorites, which ranged from older artists of the ‘70s and ‘80s, all the way up to more modern ones.

Soon, they stopped for lunch and more snacks. After that, it was only four hours before they reached their destination.

“Only” four hours. To Jim, who was hyped up on anticipation, it seemed like four days. But finally, they reached the nation’s capital.

“So, what do you guys wanna see first?” Jim almost forgot about their mission in the excitement of potential sightseeing.

“Jim, we’re not here as tourists,” Uhura said.

“Oh. Yeah. But even so, where should we go?”

“Spock?”

“My father always said he’d go up the Washington Monument, among other things.”

“Cool! Let’s do it!” Jim quickly found the giant obelisk. There, he bought three tickets to go up.

“How many tickets?” The ticket guy looked very bored.

“Three, please.”

“Names?”

“Jim Kirk, Nyota Uhura, and... um... Spock, what’s your full name?”

“S’chn T’gai Spock.”

“Sk— Sh— I can’t say that. Just Spock. Jim Kirk, Nyota Uhura, and Spock.” Jim turned back around to face the ticket guy. “Is that alright?”

The ticket guy nodded and handed them the tickets. Jim paid, and they went inside. “Stairs or elevator?”

“Elevator,” Uhura said quickly.

“Seeing as we want to go up as fast as possible, the elevator is the logical choice.”

“Elevator, then.” Jim led the way. Silence fell again as they waited in the elevator.

“Sooo... did you know that the Washington Monument is 555 feet tall?” Jim awkwardly tried to break the tension.

“I did not,” Uhura said, just as awkwardly.

Jim breathed a quiet sigh of relief as the elevator doors opened. The trio filed out. They wandered around, looking out over Washington, D.C.

It was an incredible view. Jim could see the White House, the Capitol Building, and a couple other monuments. What he couldn’t see was anything that might point them to the whereabouts of Ambassador Sarek.

Suddenly, Spock motioned them over. He pointed to a series of odd symbols marked onto the wall.

“Umm... what is it?” Uhura asked.

“You mean you don’t know Vulcan?” Spock sounded almost surprised. Almost.

“No... why would you think that?”

“Because of the messages in your field. They were in Vulcan.”

Jim pumped his fist. “Yes! What did it say?”

“We will discuss it later. This message says that we must go south.”

“Like... south of the city? South of the country? South of the equator? Just ‘south’ is pretty vague, Spock,” Jim said.

“South,” Spock said simply.

“South. Ok. Alright. Let’s go south, then!” Jim was already excited about the next part of their adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo-hoo! I finally wrote a sizable chapter! They all seem like a good size in my notebook, and then I type them up, and they’re absolutely tiny! It’s crazy! (Wow, that’s a lot of exclamation points. I don’t really like using exclamation points.)
> 
> Google was my best friend writing this. Thank you, Google.
> 
> And I updated the tags! Depending on what they decide to do going south, I may or may not update them again tomorrow. Bones should be coming in the next chapter.
> 
> As always, I’m super-unsure about my facts, correct them if they’re wrong please. And also as always, thank you so much for reading! I hope you like it!


	7. Leonard McCoy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They finally pick someone up! Yay!

“So, south. How do we wanna do this?” Jim said around a mouthful of food. The three travelers had bought a snack, and were now sitting on a bench eating it.

“Spock, did the message say anything else?” Uhura asked.

“It had two letters, which, in your alphabet, are ‘G’ and ‘A.’”

“GA,” Jim mused. “That’s the abbreviation of Georgia.”

“So we go to Georgia,” Uhura said firmly.

“Nice, let’s go!” Jim leapt up, ready to start.

“Wait just one minute, Jim, Spock and I haven’t finished eating.” Uhura pulled him back down, and Jim waited impatiently.

“Oh, good, you’re done, come on!” Jim bounced up and dashed over to the car. He started the engine as Spock and Uhura followed, a little slower. Once they were all safely buckled in, Jim drove them out of D.C. and on their way to Georgia.

Three and a half hours of driving later, Jim was hungry again. It was a little before eight, so they decided to stop for dinner.

They are quickly. When they were finished, they hit the road again. They drove accompanied by quiet music for the next two hours. Then they woke up when Jim almost fell asleep behind the wheel.

Uhura was asleep in the passenger’s seat. Spock was silent in the back. Jim stopped focusing on the road. His eyelids fell lower and... lower... and...

Suddenly, there was a startlingly loud honking noise. Jim’s eyes shot open, and he swerved wildly to get back in his lane.

But it was just barely too late. The side of their car dragged against another driver’s side mirror in a noisy screech. This really woke Jim up. He straightened out, breathing heavily. “Maybe we should stop for the night.”

They pulled off on the next exit that advertised a hotel. Spock followed Jim and Uhura as they stumbled in.

As they signed in and found their rooms, Jim sleepily thought that Spock never seemed to be tired. Did those Vulcans feel anything? Jim thought that a life without feeling would be pretty boring. But he kept these thoughts to himself as he fell into a bed without changing his clothes.

————————————————————————————————————

The next morning, they regrouped in the hotel’s little breakfast café. They were in North Carolina, only about five hours away from Atlanta, Georgia, so they decided to go to the capital. After they had woken up some more, they got in the car and started driving.

A few hours later, Jim’s stomach rumbled. “Guys, can we stop for lunch?”

“Really, Jim? We’re only an hour from Atlanta, can you wait?” Uhura had the GPS, despite it being on Jim’s phone.

“No, I can’t! I’m starving, and we’re out of snacks.”

“Fine. This next exit has a Chick-Fil-A.”

“Ooh, nice.”

“But we’re just doing the drive-through.”

“Aww.” Jim wasn’t really disappointed, he was still hungry, and it was still Chick-Fil-A.

Less than half an hour later, Jim was on the interstate again, happily eating his chicken sandwich. Not too long after he had finished, they were just about in Atlanta.

“So,” Jim began, “we’re in Atlanta, Georgia. That’s where your dad said he’d be, right Spock?”

“No—“ Spock tried to say, but Jim kept talking.

“So we’re almost done, right? Let’s go get a drink!”

“No, Jim,” said Uhura. “We are not going to get a drink.”

“Aw, c’mon, Uhura, please?” Jim employed his puppy-dog eyes. He was almost certain that nobody could resist the puppy-dog eyes.

Uhura tried. She firmly repeated that they were not getting drinks. When he kept pleading, she tried to ignore him. But eventually, she had to give into the puppy-dog eyes.

Jim parked in a little bar. “One drink only, I promise,” he said. He led Uhura and Spock in.

It was mostly empty, since it was the middle of the day. Jim chose a seat next to a slightly older man. “I’m Jim Kirk,” he said.

The other man glanced up. “Leonard McCoy,” he responded. The two shook hands. “So, what are you doing here?”

Jim explained their road trip from the top, even including the fact that Spock was an alien. McCoy chuckled. “That’s a much better reason than mine.”

“Well, why are you here?”

“Just got a divorce. She took everythin’ but my bones.”

“Well, Bones, you wanna join our little gang? I mean, I think we’re almost done, but who knows? Maybe he’s in Canada by now.” Jim shrugged. “And besides, we could use a guide around Atlanta.”

McCoy considered these points. Then he paused. “Wait, what did you call me?”

“Jim smirked. “Bones. ‘Cuz you said you’ve got nothing but your bones. D’ya like it?”

Bones grumbled, but he didn’t object.

“So, are you coming or what?”

“Fine. Why not? Not like I got anything left for me here.”

“Yes! C’mon, I gotta introduce you to Spock and Uhura!” Jim grabbed Bones’s wrist and dragged him over to the other two. Bones reluctantly followed. 

“Bones, this is Nyota Uhura and Sc— Sh— still can’t say it. And this is Spock. Guys, this is Leonard McCoy. He’s gonna show us around Atlanta!”

Uhura quietly shook his hand and sized him up. He was tall, with dark hair and hazel eyes. He wore a dark blue sweatshirt. He seemed alright, but one could never tell. She made a mental note to keep an eye on him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo! Bones! They’re coming in now, a new character every chapter, I think.
> 
> I dunno if anybody’s keeping up with this fic, but I didn’t post yesterday because I had a power outage. So I’m going to try to do two chapters today.
> 
> Ok, thank you for reading! Hope you’re enjoying this fic!


	8. Montgomery Scott

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They head to Missouri next and meet Scotty.

Jim, Uhura, Spock, and Bones sat together, planning. Bones said that he didn’t think that the “hobgoblin” was in Atlanta, so they decided to move on.

Spock reasoned that while they could go south or east, much further in either direction and they’d be driving underwater. Thus, the logical answer was going north or west.

“That sounds good,” Jim said. He pulled out his phone. “Northwest...” he murmured. “How about Missouri?”

Nobody had any objections to Missouri, so Jim typed it into his phone as they walked out to the car. “What city?”

“How ‘bout Kansas City?” Bones suggested.

“Why not the capital, Springfield?” Uhura said at the same time.

“Kansas City’s bigger,” Jim said. He climbed in behind the wheel. Uhura called shotgun, so Bones and Spock took the backseat.

About four hours later, they stopped for snacks. Bones didn’t even try to hide his disgust as Jim dropped all manner of unhealthy junk food into a bag. “That stuff’ll kill you,” he said seriously.

“Oh, lighten up, Bones,” Jim said. “It’s fine!”

“Won’t be for long if you keep eating stuff like this,” Bones mumbled, but he stopped grouching at Jim.

Later, Jim heard plastic being torn open in the backseat. Knowing that Spock didn’t see the logic in having snacks throughout the day, he grinned. “That stuff’ll kill you, y’know.”

Bones scowled. “Not me, it won’t. I snack responsibly.”

Not long after, they stopped for dinner. Bones gaped at the meal Jim ordered. “That is a deadly combination of salt, fat, and grease.”

“Well, what are you getting?” Jim shot back.

“A salad.”

It was Jim’s turn to gape. “A salad?! We’re having the adventure of our lives, and you’re getting a salad?”

“Yes, I am, because I intend to live a long, healthy life.”

Jim stared at Bones, then scowled at his “deadly combination of salt, fat, and grease.”

Later that evening, around 10:30 or so, Spock suggested that they find a hotel. “It would be illogical to wait until we are all half-asleep before stopping.”

Bones agreed. Having heard what had happened the night before, he said, “If you doze off again, someone could get hurt, or even killed.”

Uhura was already maneuvering the GPS. Not this next exit, but the one after that.”

“Alright,” Jim yawned. “Yeah, stopping’s a good idea.”

Jim parked the car at the hotel. They signed in and got three rooms: Spock and Uhura would each sleep alone, and Jim and Bones would share a room.

The next morning, they all woke up refreshed. Bones bought them all breakfast, which Jim resented a little bit. However, the eggs weren’t all bad.

They got back on the road as soon as possible. They drove for the next few hours alternating between listening to music and having friendly conversations.

All of a sudden, the engine began faltering. “What’s going on?!” Jim was worried about his van. He loved this car, his dad had lived this car. He had to take care of it.

Uhura was studying the small map on the screen of the phone. “Ok, calm down, Jim. There’s a little town called Peculiar coming up, they’ve got an auto repair shop. It’s just a little further.”

Carefully, Jim pushed the car to its limits. Almost as soon as they parked, it sputtered to a stop. Uhura handed Jim the phone as he got out, and he followed the blue line on the screen as it led him to Perkins Services, the Peculiar auto repair shop.

He went up to the young woman at the reception desk. “My car is parked at the Dollar General down the road, it just faltered and now it won’t start.”

The receptionist pressed a button on the phone on her desk. “Scotty! There’s a man with car troubles. Come help him, will ya?”

A man in a dirty red shirt stepped out. He stared a little confusedly at Jim. “Where’s the car?” He had a Scottish accent. Jim couldn’t imagine where he got it from.

“It’s about ten minutes that way,” Jim answered, pointing to the way he had come.

“Well, come on, laddie.” And the red-shirted man strode out the door.

They walked quickly down the street until they reached the car. The man flipped up the hood and smiled. “This ain’t so bad, laddie. Ya dinna hafta Do naught but get a new battery.”

“Hmm. And, umm, where could we get a battery?”

“There’d be one in the shop.” So they walked back to the shop together. Jim decided to strike up a conversation. “I’m Jim Kirk.”

“Montgomery Scott, but most people call me Scotty.”

“So, Scotty, where’re you from?”

“Scotland, born ’n’ raised,” Scotty said proudly.

“Then what’re you doing in Missouri?”

“Had some family here a few years back...” Scotty trailed off sadly. Then he asked with renewed energy, “So what brings you to Peculiar, Missouri, laddie?”

Jim told his story again. He finished with, “Do you want to come with us, too?”

Scotty was a little surprised. He tried to think of a reason to stay, but he couldn’t. So, “sure,” he said.

When they got back to the shop, Jim bought the car battery. Then Scotty formally said, “I resign my position.” They went back to the car cheerfully. Scotty replaced the battery, then showed the others a nice little place where they ate lunch. Over lunch, they talked about where they were going next.

“Well,” Jim said, “so far, nothing has gone to plan. Let’s go back to square one. What city do you think of when you think ‘America’?”

“New York!” Scotty replied.

“Perfect. All in favor of New York?” Everyone raised their hands. They went back out to the car to set off for New York.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whee, they’re getting longer! And Scotty!
> 
> Um, I tried to do Scotty’s accent. I really did. I’m sorry if it sucks.
> 
> Also, Peculiar, MO, is a real place. You can look it up.
> 
> Hope you like this! Have a good evening!


	9. Hikaru Sulu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They get to New York. They find Hikaru. He’s a better driver than Jim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it’s a day late, if anybody’s keeping up with this. I think just a few more chapters. Not sure how many yet.
> 
> Thoughts, questions, constructive criticism, anything would be very much welcomed.
> 
> I had an idea for a sequel to this, if anyone would like that. It would involve both crews of the Enterprise, this one and the canon one, in a “time swap.” (Really, it would be a dimension swap, but that would all be explained in the fic.)
> 
> Enjoy!

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. They stopped three times: once for gas and once for dinner, before stopping for the night.

The next morning also passed peacefully. They stopped around noon for a small lunch, then kept driving. They reached New York, New York, at about three o’clock.

“So, what do we do next?” Jim asked.

“We could start by going around the city,” put in Uhura.

“I agree with Nyota,” Bones added.

“Ok—wait. Since when are you two on a first-name basis? I’ve known you for years, and I still have to call you Uhura!”

“Leonard is polite. He’s got nice manners.” Uhura said.

“And I don’t?”

“No, not really.”

“Wow, thanks.”

“Enough, you two!” Bones said sharply. “Jim, stop the car.”

“What? Why?”

“‘Cuz I got an idea. Now pull over.”

“Okay...” Jim did as he was told. He and his four passengers got out. Bones called over a taxi. He opened the door. “Spock, Nyota, you first. Go see whatever you want.”

Uhura nodded. She understood what McCoy was doing. She gave the driver instructions, and they drove off.

“Scotty and me next,” Bones said as he flagged down another cab.

“What? Why don’t I get a partner?”

“Because you make friends so easily.” Bones got into the car.

Jim watched them drive off. He supposed Bones was right. He waved over a third taxi and stepped in. “Umm... take me to your favorite pizza place, I guess.”

The driver turned around and looked at Jim. Then he smiled. “Yes, sir.”

Fifteen minutes later, Jim was eating the best pizza he’d ever had. He’d introduced himself and told his story again in the way to the pizza place. And now, the Asian man sitting opposite him was contemplating Jim’s offer to join the team.

“Y’know, why not? I don’t got anything keeping me here.”

“You really wanna come! Cool! Yeah, let’s go! Hikaru, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

Jim called Uhura, then Bones. The conversations went about the same way on Jim’s end: “Hey... yes, I’m fine... yeah... ok, meet me at the pizza place on 21st.”

Not long after, Jim’s four companions had joined him and Hikaru around the table. “Guys, this is Hikaru Sulu. Hikaru, this is Scotty, Leonard McCoy, Nyota Uhura, and Spock. I’m done trying to pronounce his full name.” Jim gestured to each person in turn. “Hikaru’s gonna be our new driver!”

Uhura stared, a little shocked. “But I thought you didn’t like it when other people drove your car?”

“Well, between what Hikaru does for a living and what happened a few nights ago, I figure he’s the better driver.”

Bones took a slice of the pizza and bit into it. He chewed thoughtfully. “We should probably decide where we’re goin’ next. Assumin’ nobody saw that crazy alien on our little tour of NYC?”

Everybody shook their heads.

“We should go west,” said Jim. “San Francisco?”

“Yeah, we could visit Starfleet Academy!” Uhura added.

“What is Starfleet Academy?” Spock asked. “And will going there help us find my father?”

“Starfleet’s a flight school, Uhura and I’ve been working all summer to get in. And I dunno, maybe they’ll have seen your dad? They’re one of the best-known flight schools in the country,” said Jim.

“Yeah,” said Hikaru, “let’s go check out Starfleet. San Francisco!”

So after paying for their pizza, they started driving again. Between five people with very different tastes in music, there was a little bit of arguing. However, generally, they talked and joked and got to know each other.

Around 7:30, they stopped for dinner, and a couple hours later, they stopped for the night. Jim fell asleep with the quiet thought that it had been a good day.


	10. Pavel Chekov

They were up bright and early the next morning. They had decided to take a roundabout route to California, following the Canadian border.

They stopped twice for meals. They were getting ready to stop for the night when they saw a young man walking along the side of the road. He had blond curly hair, and was carrying a huge backpack. He looked up when he heard the car, and stuck his thumb out into the road. Hikaru pulled over, and Jim rolled down his window. “Hey, kid, where’re you heading?”

“Novhere really,” he shrugged. He had a Russian accent. “Novhere end eweryvhere.”

“Well, that’s kinda what we’re doing. Hop in,” Jim invited. Uhura opened the door, and the hitch-hiker grinned as he clambered in.

Introductions were made. The kid’s name was Pavel Andreivich Chekov, and he was “sewenteen.” He had been born and raised in Russia, but his family had moved to America about a year ago. Pavel had decided he wanted an adventure, so he had run away a week or so ago.

“That’s about the same as us,” Jim said. Stories were interchanged. They talked until everyone was yawning, and they decided to stop.

As they got into the car the next morning, Jim realized that their seating arrangements had changed drastically. That first night, Jim had been driving, with Spock in the passenger seat and Uhura in the back. Somewhere along the way, Spock and Uhura had swapped. When Bones joined, he sat in the backseat, constantly arguing with Spock. Then Scotty had come. That day, Bones called shotgun, which put Scotty in the backseat, and Spock and Uhura took the as-yet-untouched very back. When Sulu started driving, Jim claimed shotgun, so Bones moved back and joined Scotty. And then, since they had discovered last night that Pavel was a good navigator, Jim had been demoted to the very back of the car, with Scotty and Bones on either side of him. Chekov had shotgun, and Spock and Uhura were in the middle.

Jim didn’t really mind all that much, he was just glad to be on this adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Chekov’s here! I’m sorry if his accent was awful, I’m really bad at writing accents. :/
> 
> It’s a shorter chapter because I finally have all the chapters lined up, and I really thought there’d be more to say. I added the bit about the seating because otherwise it was just five-ish paragraphs, and that would be waaaaaay too short.
> 
> I’m really excited about finishing this. There are two chapters left, and then I have a couple more things planned for the 21st century Team Enterprise.
> 
> As always, my facts may be wrong, please give me some constructive criticism! 
> 
> I hope you’re enjoying this story as much as I am!


	11. A Little Town in Oregon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They get drunk. That’s it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a completely un-essential chapter. They get drunk, as mentioned. Well, not all of them. Obviously, it was Jim’s idea.
> 
> Anyways, it’s poorly written because I have no experience, but that’s a good thing!
> 
> And, if anybody’s keeping up with this, day-to-day, sorry it’s a day late. I was traveling all day, and when I got home, I forgot to post it. I will post the last chapter tomorrow, I think. I dunno, maybe later today. Then, as I said before, I have a couple more ideas in mind for this 21st century Team Enterprise.
> 
> Enjoy! As per usual, constructive criticism is very welcome.

They stopped for lunch and gas that day. When they stopped for the latter, Jim pulled Hikaru aside and whispered something in his ear. Hikaru grinned and nodded.

Later that evening, after dinner, instead of taking them back to the interstate, Hikaru drove across town to a bar.

“Jim, what are we doing?” Bones saw right through Jim’s plan.

“Well, I just thought that since we’ve come so far, we should have a night off. Just a couple drinks, then we can go to the hotel down the road,” Jim answered easily.

Bones grumbled, but Jim and Scotty and Hikaru and Pavel were all so excited. And while Bones could say no to Jim, Pavel’s still-young face was a little harder. And they were already there, so why not?

They went inside. There were a lot of people, but not so many that they were getting pushed around. They walked up to the bar and ordered.

As the night went on, it became clear to bones that Jim and Scotty has a very different definition of “a couple” than he did. It also soon became clear that Jim could be a competitive drinker.

“C’mon, guys, who can last the longest?” Jim was already slurring his words slightly. Bones and Uhura quickly declined. Pavel was all for it, but Bones pulled him out. “No drinking for you, kid,” he said sternly. Pavel cursed in Russian.

Bones was a little surprised when Spock didn’t back out. When asked why, he said, “It is illogical to back out of a contest which I know I will win. My advanced Vulcan metabolism means that I will be able to ‘last longer,’ as Jim so eloquently put it.”

Bones shrugged. Reason enough for him. He slowly nursed his own beer as Jim, Scotty, and Hikaru slowly got more drunk. Spock held his own, and sure enough, stayed steady.

Hikaru opted out a few drinks in, Scotty following a few drinks after. Then it was just Jim and Spock. They stared at each other as the drinks went down.”

“You don’t—hic!—don’t feel anything?”

“Nothing.”

“Like Legolas?”

“I do not know to what you are referring.”

“Legolas! Like—hic!—like in Lord of the Rings!”

“Jim, he’s never seen Lord of the Rings,” Bones put in. “And I think you’ve had enough to drink.”

“No, c’mon, Bones, I—hic!—I’ve barely started!”

“Nope, come on, we’re going to the hotel. Hikaru, give me the keys.”

Hikaru fumbled with his pocket, and quickly obliged. Spock, Uhura, and Bones got the three drunk men and one incredibly sleepy Russian boy piled into the car. Since Bones had had the least to drink, and knew how to drive, he went inside, paid, then came back out and drove them down the street to the hotel.

The three sober and awake people went inside. “Can we have...” Bones hesitated.

“Four rooms, please,” Uhura said.

“Four?” Bones asked her.

“You and Jim, Pavel and Hikaru, me and Spock, and Scotty,” she listed.

“Oh. Ok.” Bones turned back to the receptionist. “Four rooms, please. And, uh, do you have any on the ground floor?”

Fortunately, the hotel did. They carried their three drunk friends and sleeping Russian into their respective rooms.


	12. Author's Note

This is just a quick, late-night author's note, explaining what to expect for anybody keeping up with these guys.

Chapter 12 (technically 13 'cuz this technically counts as a chapter) will be posted either today or tomorrow (Thursday or Friday). It all depends on whether or not I can tear myself away from Pinterest and Star Trek: The Next Generation long enough to get some actual work done. Hopefully, it will get posted today (Thursday), but perhaps not. It will be the final chapter, and a lot has to happen.

After that's done, I have a one-shot planned about Jim and his car. It will take place pretty soon after "21st Century" ends, I think. Scotty'll be there, too! I'm not sure when this one'll be posted. Again, it depends on when I get my act together and write it. However, it shouldn't be _too_ long after "21st Century." I'm currently thinking this Sunday, August 2nd.

And _then,_ I have a sequel to "21st Century" called Time Swap. This one, I still need to think about it, plan it out a little, cement the idea, etc. I want to have the first few chapters written down, as well, before I start posting. I have no idea how long all of that will take, so I'm not going to give a date to expect it. As soon as I have an educated guess, I'll come back here and change this A/N.

In the meantime, let me know what relationships you want in "Time Swap!" Not sure which ones I can include, or which ones I want to include, but it'd be good to know what people want before I get a final plan worked out.

I think that's all. I don't know what I'm doing after "Time Swap," but I have a couple fandom-crossover ideas, all Star Trek-related. Also, as I mentioned, I'm watching The Next Generation, so you can probably expect something to come out about that. Let me know if there's anything you'd like to see me write, maybe I can work it into a fic. (Please note that I'm still basically a kid. The most relationship-py I've gotten was with some of my ATLA fics, "Fever Dreams" and "Light Sleepers." All of my experience writing such stuff comes from other fanfics.)

So, yeah. Thanks for reading this. I really hope you liked it so far. I really hope you'll like what I have planned. Have a good night!


	13. Starfleet and Sarek

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dramatic conclusion!
> 
> Well, maybe it’s not all that dramatic. It’s actually pretty calm. But they’ve got nothing left to do (in this adventure anyways... ;))

Jim woke up with a severe headache and a nauseous stomach. He stumbled to the bathroom and threw up. When he stood up, he found a note from Bones on the counter, telling Jim to meet them in the hotel’s little breakfast café. Jim did, and staggered over to find Bones, Uhura, Spock, and a filling breakfast of toast and eggs. “Thanks,” he mumbled, digging in.

“You’re welcome,” Bones said. It looked to Jim that Bones had ordered the same thing for all seven of them, despite the fact that Pavel hadn’t drunk anything, and Bones, Uhura, and Spock had stayed sober.

His head still pounding, Jim ate his breakfast. Slowly, the other three men joined them. Jim suspected that Scotty and Hikaru had headaches just as bad as his.

After they had all finished eating, and the hangovers had diminished somewhat, they went out to the van. Hikaru made for the driver’s seat, but Bones stopped him. No, sir, you guys still have hangovers. I’m driving us to San Francisco.”

Jim and Hikaru groaned, but they knew Bones was right. So they climbed into the very back with Scotty.

The three of them quickly fell asleep, sleeping off the last of their hangovers. They slept through most of the ten-hour drive, only really waking up for lunch.

The next time they had to get up was that evening, when they reached San Francisco. Jim, Uhura, Scotty, Hikaru, and Pavel looked all around them as they wandered around Starfleet Flight Academy.

A man walked up to them. “What are you guys doing here?”

Jim stepped forward. “I’m Jim Kirk, sir.”

The other man’s expression changed. “Your father wouldn’t be George Kirk? Famous pilot?”

“Yes, sir,” Jim said, a little nervous.

“I knew him. He was a close friend of mine. And, sadly, I witnessed the accident that killed him.”

“It’s good to meet you, sir,” Jim said, sticking out his hand.

“Christopher Pike,” The other man said as they shook hands. “So, what brings you here?”

Jim told his story yet again to Pike. He introduced his friends one by one as they came up. “So,” he concluded, “we’ve been driving for almost a week, and the closest thing we’ve seen to a sign from Ambassador Sarek was a message that he left us in the Washington Monument.”

Pike seemed to have followed the story pretty well. “I can help you.”

“You can?” Jim asked. “Spock, you hear that?”

“Ambassador Sarek is in Canada, living happily with his wife.”

Everyone’s jaw dropped, except for Spock’s. But even Spock looked about as amazed as a Vulcan could look.

“Better yet, I can fly you there, get you there tonight.” Pike led them to a plane. “Wait here.” He walked inside one of the enormous buildings, presumably to get the appropriate paperwork.

When he came back out, he called over for them to get in the plane. Jim did, and Pike said, “Jim, to the cockpit.”

Jim grinned. “Yes, sir!” Once he got there, he sat in the copilot’s seat.

“This is your first, unofficial, flight lesson. It’ll be totally off the records when you get into SFA.” Jim like how certain Pike sounded.

Their six passengers, however, were a lot less sure of Jim’s flight capabilities. “I suffer from aviophobia,” Bones growled. “It means fear of dyin’ in somethin’ that flies!”

“I think this thing is pretty safe,” Jim called back.

“It’s not the machine I’m scared of, Jim.”

“Oh, you’ll be fine. Don’t you trust me?”

“Not particularly, since you were drunk outta your mind last night.”

“You said half an hour ago that all traces alcohol were gone from our systems. Didn’t he , Scotty?”

“Aye, that he did, lad,” Scotty beamed.

Bones groaned.

“Can ve stop arguing and leawe?” Pavel put in. “I am wery excited to see Canadia.”

“It’s Canada, kid,” Bones said through gritted teeth.

“Is zat not vhat I said?”

Bones ignored him. “The kid’s right, can we go already?”

Up in the cockpit, Pike told Jim what to do. Slowly but surely, they took off.

As they got higher, Uhura and Pavel watched the world grow smaller out the windows. Scotty and Hikaru hovered in the cockpit, learning just as much as Jim from Pike. Spock sat quietly with his thoughts, and Bones tried desperately not to throw up.

A few hours later, they landed in Canada. Bones got off all too eagerly, Pavel hot on his heels. Spock followed, a little slower, trailed by Uhura, Hikaru, Scotty, Jim, and Pike.

Pike led them through the woods they had landed near. Soon, they came to a small cabin. ‘A cabin in the woods,’ Jim thought. ‘Kinda cliché.’

Pike knocked on the door. When it opened, there was someone who looked just like Spock, pointy ears and all. “Sarek! Good to see you again! I brought you some visitors.” Pike stepped aside, revealing Spock.

For a moment, they just stared at each other in matching Vulcan disbelief. Then, a woman pushed past Sarek. “Spock!” She ran to hug him.

At first, Spock was stiff, but Jim saw him relax a little and sort-of hug the woman back. “Mother.”

When Spock’s mother, who was clearly human, finished hugging her son, she stepped back and looked around at Jim, Pike, and the rest. “I’m sorry, I’ve been rather rude.” She smiled. “Please, come in.” She led them into the cabin, out of the now-late night.

Introductions were made, and stories told. As it turned out, Sarek had come to Earth about five years ago on a diplomatic mission. Then, he had re-met his wife, Amanda, and she convinced him to stay on Earth. They had gone to Starfleet because of the incredibly advanced, incredibly secret, science division, where they met Pike. They had then come to the little Canadian cabin in the woods, where they had lived for the last four years or so.

Then Jim yawned, and everyone remembered how late it was and how tired they were. So Amanda deftly arranged sleeping arrangements for all eight visitors.

They slept well, and the next morning, Bones helped Amanda make breakfast. Jim woke to the delicious smells of pancakes, syrup, and bacon. He followed his nose to the kitchen, where Bones already had a plate ready for him.

As more people got up, came into the kitchen, and got their breakfast, a discussion began on what to do next. Pike said that Starfleet would be willing to accept Jim, Uhura, Hikaru, and Pavel as flight students. Scotty wanted to know more about the classified science division. Bones had no interest in Starfleet at all, but decided to stay in San Francisco and get a job as a doctor at a local hospital. Spock intended to stay with his family.

Later that day, the humans thought it was time to take their leave. Bones grumbled loudly as they got back on the plane. Jim smiled from ear to ear as he got to copilot again.

All in all, it was a cheerful trip back to Starfleet Flight Academy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Canadian cabin in the woods. What the heck was I thinking? (Answer: I wasn’t really, probably.) But oh well. *shrugs*
> 
> Up next: a one-shot about Jim, his car, and Scotty, as you well know, because I’ve said it a million times. And then Time Swap! (Dimension Swap. Whatever.) I’m really excited to write Time Swap.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed these guys’s trip across America. I hope you’ll like their trip across space next!


End file.
